Chale Jao
by Rekall
Summary: AU Atemu and Bakura are young demons living in the demon village of Chale Jao. Wanting adventure the pair head to the Pool of Destiny to find out what fate has in store for them. [minor SetoYami]
1. Kitty Troubles

**A/N -** GAH! This was _supposed _to have been up Monday night but my computer started giving me really weird problems (just with IE, the rest of the computer appears fine but whenever I click on IE it says the site cannot load because Spyware is infected on my computer, I run the spyware program and nothing comes up and it still doesn't work! grr...). Tuesday my internet was down so I don't know if it's still acting up and I was going to post this using the school's computers but at 3:45pm I call my parents and tell them I want to come home for a few days (I had been debating about it all day) and told them I was leaving tomorrow morning for a visit. At 4:00pm my mom calls me back and tells me there's a bus leaving for home at 6pm so I rush back to my place (I was still at school) and quickly pack (remember I didn't think I was leaving until the next day so I was completely not ready) and hurried to the Grayhound bus station to find out that the only bus that night was at 12:30am (this really pissed me off because I've taken that 6pm bus a number of times in the past and now all of a sudden it's not running). At this point I'm really bummed because I had gotten my hopes up to go home that night and called back my mom who tells me there's a train leaving at 5:55pm. At that point it was 5:05pm and the train station is all the way across the city. So I jump in a taxi and speed off to the train station getting there around 5:25pm and am able to get on that train (it's a shame they don't let Canadians on that Amazing Race show or else me and my mom would kick everyone's asses).. I then tried putting this up Wednesday morning when I was on briefly (reading EH) only to discover that the A drive on my brother's computer is not working. The only other computer here is my old one that is on dial up but the dial up always causes it to freeze up. So it was a no go then to get it posted. The next time I was able to get on was now and fortunately my old computer stayed unfrozen long enough for me to update this. The good news in all of this is because it took way longer then expected to get this up is that the next part is already completed and will be posted next week (if there's no further computer troubles) as soon as I get it typed up.

After all that (if you're still reading this part and haven't already jumped down to the story) I have to say_ thank you _to **Dragon **for coming up with the original story idea, allowing me to steal the demon away from her, and giving me the freedom I needed to create a whole world envolving these characters. Secondly I need to thank my wifey **Dukie **just for being her. Dukie and Dragon are the ones who always pester me to write and I love them for it. :GSB group hug:

* * *

Arms were raised over the tri-colored haired teen's head as he attempted to hide the cat ears that were protruding from his head. A black tail snaked around one of the teen's legs as he tried blending it in with his black leather pant leg of his body.

Laugher echoed throughout the forest as a white haired youth pointed and laughed at the tri-haired teen. Despite the laughter the pair were best friends.

"Shut up Bakura!"

"Whoa, don't kill me Kitten!" Bakura teased. The teen momentary forgot about his embarrassment and lunged at his friend but Bakura quickly dodged out of the way and the cat demon fell to the forest floor. "You have to be quicker then that to catch me Atemu."

Atemu picked himself up off of the ground and glared at his white haired friend. "This isn't funny! The Elders will kill me! This is worst then the time you accidentally burned down the western half of the forest! That at least could be easily covered up!"

"Yeah you're pretty much screwed."

Bakura and Atemu were both demons who lived in the village of Chale Jao deep within a large forest. The village was entirely made up of demons, but demons were hunted and feared by humans so demons prided themselves in their ability to pretend to live as normal humans.

Demons were forbidden to use their powers in the village in case a traveler was passing through. Under the safety of the foliage, demons were allowed to practice their powers but only after they had come of age. Young demons like Atemu and Bakura were only allowed to use their powers under adult supervision when they were having training exercises. Young demons however often broke this rule while exploring the forest.

Bakura, a fire demon who could control and start fires, and Atemu, a cat demon who could transform into a small black cat, had been busy exploring a nearby waterfall when Atemu had transformed into a cat so he could easily jump up upon the large rocks. When he had tried turning back into his human form he had ended up keeping his cat ears and tail. Among young animal morphing demons it was common to mess up transformations, which was one of the many reasons why young demons were not allowed to use their powers without supervision.

"What am I going to do? Atemu groaned. " I can't go back to the village like this. The Elders will be so disappointed in me!"

"Yeah especially since you're such a goody-goody. You don't normally break the rules…and get caught…"

"You're not helping!"

Already Atemu had tried turning back into a cat and then into a human gain but it did not work. Atemu had since given up hop that he was not getting back to normal without aid.

"I repeat you're screwed."

Atemu sighed and rolled his eyes at his friend. Turning away from the fire demon, Atemu began walking back towards their village. He figured he might as well get things over with.

* * *

Atemu stood with his head bowed before the two men and one woman that make up the Elder Counsel, the ruling power of the village. All three of them sat upon a raised stage and they glared down at the young cat demon. 

The Elders had spent the last few hours yelling and scolding Atemu for his stupid act. They then make Atemu recite out lout the rules of Chale Jao and the laws that all demons obeyed to keep their goddess happy.

"Give him the potion," the Elder Akunumkanon finally said with a wave of his hand.

"No not that!" Atemu protested as his head shot up.

Two attendants walked forward, one holding a jug of the nasty yellow liquid. The potion was something that child demons, especially animal morphing ones, commonly had to take because it reversed the effects of a wrong transformation. Needless to say Atemu had taken it a lot during his young life and had no quickness to try it again anytime soon.

Atemu tried running but was quickly grabbed by his tail. Atemu, who had always been small, was easily over powered by the attendants and the liquid was poured down his throat burning all the way. As Atemu choked on the substance, his tail and ears shrank until his tail was gone and his ears were normal one again.

Released, Atemu hurried out of the Elder's Hall to find Bakura waiting for him on the small steps outside the building.

"I see you're normal again Kitten."

"Stop that!" Atemu snapped crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Bakura. It annoyed him when Bakura used the Kitten nickname. Other demons make fun of him for only being able to transform into a small cat. They called him weak. If only they knew his real power. "I just had the pleasure of drinking the nasty yellow stuff. So I'm in no mood for teasing!"

"Cheer up Kitten, I have come to inform you that you have training bright and early tomorrow morning. I on the other hand did nothing wrong this afternoon and get to sleep in until noon."

"I hate you."

"Jealously will get you no where."

"BAKURA!"

"Fine, fine, I'm shutting up now."

"Good."

"You really need to loosen up Kitten."

"Not helping," Atemu growled moments before a thought occurred to him. "Mahaado is going to kill me in the morning!"

"Yup!"

Atemu turned his eyes on Bakura once again and gave him another glare. "You're not helping yet!"

* * *

"Relax, you're too tense and stressed. Calm yourself and be at peace." 

Atemu tried to do what he was told as he meditated with the fox demon who was his teacher. All young demons had a teacher to help train them to use their powers. Mahaado, a tall tanned man with shoulder length brunet hair was Atemu's teacher since they were both animal-morphing demons. Atemu admired Mahaado greatly but felt his lightly older teacher needed to loosen up.

"You're trying too hard. Changing between your two forms should be easy, a natural occurrence. Don't think, just do it."

"I understand."

"Good," Mahaado said as he rose to his feet. Atemu stood up as well and stood next to his teacher. "See that bird up there?" High up in the tree was a sparrow happily singing a song. Eyeing the bird, Atemu nodded his head. "Catch it and bring it back to me."

Atemu nodded his head and transformed into a cat. As a cat Atemu slinked his way up the tree careful not to make a nose and disturb the bird. Arriving at the branch the sparrow was on; Atemu carefully crawled along it holding onto his breath. Closer he crept along until he was almost to the bird, if he reached out with a front paw Atemu could almost touch the bird.

Atemu was nearly ready to pounce when the branch and entire tree began shaking. The sparrow flew off and Atemu clung to the thick branch praying to the goddess that the earthquake would soon pass.

Atemu was not that lucky however and the shaking became more violent, causing the small cat to fall from the branch, landing on the ground with a thud.

"Are you okay Atemu?" Mahaado asked with unconcern while the black cat turned human again and unsteadily stood.

"I think so. But what happened?"

Before Mahaado could reply laugher was heard from the trees. Through the thick bushes appeared Claudius, an earth demon, and his two lackeys. Claudius and his friends were Atemu's age and the earth demon had always picked on Atemu, so there was little doubt in the cat demon's mind that Claudius was the one who caused the earthquake.

"Aww…did the kitty fall down go boom?"

"Shut up," Atemu hissed.

"Atemu…" Mahaado warned, as he didn't want a fight to start. "Ignore him." Reluctantly Atemu turned his back to Claudius so he could continue with his training.

"You wouldn't stand a chance against me anyway. You're nothing but a cat. Pathetic. At least your teacher can transform into a fox. No wonder your parents abandoned you-"

Atemu spun around and lunged at the other teen, transforming into sleek black leopard as he flew through the air. The leopard landed on Claudius with a heavy thud and bared his teeth at the shocked teen.

"Atemu!"

Mahaado's yell snapped Atemu back to reality. The leopard climbed off Claudius body, who quickly stood and ran off, while Atemu transformed back into a human and looked at the ground with a guilty expression on his face.

"I think we should visit the Elders."

* * *

Atemu sat on the floor, his back resting against the wall of the Elder Counsel building. His knees were drawn up to his chest as he hugged himself to seek comfort. 

Other demons had come by and stared at him while the Elders listened to what Mahaado had to say. Never before had anyone heard of an animal morphing demon being able to take on more then one form. Therefore naturally the other demons were curious to get a look at Atemu.

Eventually Bakura had chased the others off. Although it was forbidden to use their demon powers in the village, Bakura had the reputation of being crazy and they feared he would ignore the rules to defend his friend. The other demons had wisely stayed away after the fire demon arrived on the scene.

Bakura now stood a few feet away from the building. His arms were crossed over his chest and he glared at anyone who dared to past by. Bakura hadn't spoken to Atemu since arriving, which worried the cat demon. He suspected that Bakura was angry with him for not telling him about being a leopard as well as a cat.

The doors slowly opened next to Atemu and Mahaado walked out. "They wish to see you now."

Atemu silently nodded his head and slowly stood. The cat demon shot Bakura a look but his white haired friend was ignoring him. Mahaado also would not meet Atemu's eyes as the tri-haired teen walked pass him and into the building.

A shiver ran through Atemu's body as he walked towards the stage where the Elder's sat. He kneeled before them, keeping his head bowed so he would not have to look at them.

"How long have you known you can transform into a leopard in addition to your cat transformation?" asked the Elder known as Shimon. Atemu knew it would be best for him to tell the truth.

"All my life."

"And why did you not tell anyone?" This time it was the head Elder Akunumkanon who spoke.

"I was scared because it was not natural."

"Yes only Messalina had multiple powers," Akunumkanon mused.

"I am not worthy to be associated with the Goddess."

"Indeed."

Akunumkanon's words stung Atemu. All he had ever wanted was to gain the respect of the other demons especially the Elders. The Elders had taken him in as a baby when his parents abandoned him in the village. No one knew who his parents were so Shimon had taken him in and raised him.

The room fell silent as Atemu waited for the Elders to continue. He wondered what was going to happen to him.

"You may go."

"What?" Atemu asked as he snapped his head up.

"You may go," Akunumkanon repeated. "You did nothing wrong. According to Mahaado, Claudius was out of line and you were not at fault for attacking him. Therefore you may leave without punishment. We've already informed Mahaado to continue with your training in the morning. We felt after what happened you could use some rest. Mahaado was not pleased as he felt a rest was not needed but he agreed to our decision."

"Thank you Great Ones," Atemu replied as he stood and quickly raced from the building before they could change their minds.

"His powers are stronger then we expected," Livia, the sole female Elder, said when all signs of Atemu had disappeared.

"Of course, he's my son after all," Akunumkanon replied with a proud smile on his face.

* * *

Atemu hurried from the Elder's building not paying attention to where he was going. Therefore it was no surprise that the cat demon ended up crashing into Bakura, who was still waiting for him. The two young demons fell to the ground with Atemu landing on top of the fire demon. 

"Nice going Kitten," Bakura grumbled as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"What's you're problem?" Atemu protested as he also stood. Now that he knew he wasn't in trouble, Atemu was angry at the silent treatment his friend was giving him.

"Easy Kitten no need to bring out those claws of yours. I'm your friend remember?"

"Some friend. You've been ignoring me while I thought I was in trouble with the Elders!" Atemu crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, while he wondered what was up with Bakura.

"Aww…Kitten I was protecting you. As soon as I let my guard down you know those snoops would have been back." Playfully, Bakura reached out and ruffled Atemu's hair. "Besides I knew you'd get off."

"Oh?"

"Sure, you're the first of your kind. No other demon has two powers. And yet here you are who can transform into both a cat and a leopard. Those skills can be useful out in the real world."

"How so?" Atemu asked while raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"Well…out in the untamed land a small animal like a cat could run into trouble from larger prey but a leopard would have no problem surviving in the unknown. But around people a cat form is more usefully if you're trying to remain under cover."

"I have no desire to see the rest of the world," Atemu muttered. "I'm quite happy here."

"Where's you're sense of adventure?" Bakura asked as the pair began walking along the warn path towards the forest. Atemu wasn't sure when but somewhere in the last few minutes he had forgiven his friend.

"Bakura, I'm tried of getting into trouble," Atemu sighed. "It doesn't matter to you because everyone knows you're insane. But to me it does matter because every time I do something wrong I have demons like Claudius jumping all over me because my parents abandoned me. I don't know why the abandoned me but I know they're good people. I can feel it."

"You could find your parents if you leave here. Track them down…"

"And just how am I supposed to do that?" Atemu asked while giving Bakura a look. "The world is huge. I'll never find them."

"The Pool of Destiny can help you with that."

"You're nuts," Atemu replied with a small shake of his head. The Pool of Destiny was located in a cave where Messalina lived before her death where she became the demon goddess. Said to be the first demon in existence, Messalina was shunned from the human villages for her powers. It was said when a demon looked into the Pool of Destiny they will see their future, but the pool also comes with a warning in that they can only look once or they will witness things they would not want to see. Upon reaching a certain age, young demons would often travel to the Pool of Destiny and use the pool to help guide themselves in the next stage of their lives. It was a type of trail where young demons could prove they are ready to enter adulthood.

"I'm tired of sticking around here," Bakura complained. "I've learned everything I can, it's only an issue of practicing what I've learn and I can just as easily do that out there then here. I know you're the same way. Sure there was that incident yesterday but you were stressing out when it happened instead of remaining calm like you were supposed too. My parents think it's a good idea although I'm sure they just want to get rid of me so they can have more kids. They fear any siblings would turn out like me and can only handle one at a time."

"Shimon would never let me go."

"Shimon is not your father. Just go."

"He's like a father though. He's taken care of me for so long. I can't just leave!"

"Not even to find your real parents…?"

Atemu heavily sighed. He didn't know what to do so he remained quite while Bakura continued to talk.

"I'm leaving tomorrow at dawn with or without you."

"…I'll go..."


	2. When Friends Become Enemies

**A/N** - See I told you I would get this up soon::grin: And there's some minor Seto/Yami in this chapter is well::watches as everyone celebrates: Anywho thanks for the reviews everyone!

Dukie, love ya!

Dragon, I think I deserve a CA chapter now. :p

lindi, update Chosen!

* * *

The air was hazy as Atemu slipped quietly out of Shimon's home. The sun had not yet risen but it was gray enough out so that Atemu could see where he was going without having to resort to one of his feline forms.

He had informed Shimon last night of his and Bakura's plan. Although Shimon was not pleased he agreed to Atemu decision before running off to an emergency meeting with Akunumkanon. Upon returning, Atemu was surprised to find Shimon now in favor of the trip. The Elder had even help packed the worn knapsack that was currently slung over Atemu's shoulders.

"Ready to go?" Bakura asked walking over to his friend. Like Atemu, Bakura had a knapsack on his back. They both also wore handed down, loose, brown clothing to help them blend in with their environment.

Silently, Atemu nodded his head towards Bakura and the two friends began to walk away from the village and towards the forest. For the trip the pair had decided to walk. Bakura had been practicing a technique of morphing places but could only travel short distances for the time being. He hoped to get some practice during the trip to expand the length he could travel. Regardless, Atemu was stuck walking, as he did not possess Bakura's traveling trick. He hoped however to gain the chance to practice his transformations.

The pair continued to walk as the sun slowly rose into the sky. When the sun was directly overhead, they knew it was noon and therefore time for a break.

"Food!" Bakura declared as he rummaged through his bag. Atemu noticed that the fire demon's parents had packed a wide assortment of food for their son and he figured they were secretly hoping Bakura would succeed and would be shown not to go back to the village.

"This is stupid!" Atemu declared as he dumped the contents of both their bags causing bread, apples, oranges, bananas and other fruit to scatter everywhere. "We're supposed to use our abilities to complete our journey!"

"You idiot! That was all our food! Now what are we going to eat?"

"Start a fire," Atemu commanded as he began strolling away from the log that Bakura was sitting on. "I'll get our food."

Transforming into a leopard, Atemu darted off through the forest leaving Bakura behind who continued to grumble.

* * *

Atemu's crimson eyes fell upon the deer that nibbled at the patch of grass. Atemu was down wind and he was remaining quiet so the deer could neither smell nor hear him.

The deer looked around at its surroundings before lowering its head to get more grass, which was when Atemu made his move. Rushing forward, Atemu leaped at the deer before it could run off. The leopard's sharp teeth sank into the deer's fleshy neck and Atemu dragged the other animal to the ground.

The deer continued to kick and squirm but Atemu held strong with his jaws locked. After a few minutes the deer quieted and remained still. Only then did Atemu get up and begin dragging the animal back to Bakura.

* * *

"Well…?"

"You did good Kitten," Bakura replied as his sharp teeth tore into the deer meat. Ironically when Atemu was in his human form, Bakura had the more animal qualities out of the two of them. Both were sitting side by side on a fallen log in front of the fire that Bakura had created as they ate their food.

"See we can do this by ourselves," Atemu triumphantly pointed out while taking much smaller bites of his own food. "It felt so good freely using my powers without Mahaado around to supervise me."

"Plus you didn't end up with ears and a tail this time…"

"That was a minor mishap. You were right, I was stressed out."

"Well I'm glad you're feeling better about yourself. I'll have you overconfident and cocky in no time."

"After we finish eating we should practice a bit," Atemu suggested, ignoring Bakura's _overconfident and cocky _comment. "I never was able to spend much time in my leopard form and I know you want to try that traveling trick of yours."

"Fine," Bakura replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "According to my parents we follow this path until we reach a meadow. We'll meet up there."

"Race you!" Leaping to his feet, Atemu transformed into a leopard and ran off down the path before Bakura could do anything.

A smirk appeared on Bakura's face as he stood and accepted the challenge. A circle of fire surrounded Bakura and moments later the fire demon disappeared.

* * *

The two young demons continued to race throughout the afternoon. Atemu would run along the worn path and every so often Bakura would pop up out of the flames before disappearing again. Eventually Atemu grew within sight of the meadow and Bakura was nowhere to be seen, so Atemu hurried along wanting to win the race.

Bounding forward Atemu was almost there when Bakura suddenly appeared in front of him. Plowing into Bakura, the two demons tumbled to the ground.

"Beat you!" Bakura tiredly declared as he laid flat on his back. Using his powers so much had exhausted him.

"Did not! We tied!" Atemu argued. In his human form again, Atemu was already back on his feet but panting from all the running he had done.

"You had a head start remember. Therefore I win."

"You were the stupid one who allowed me to get the head start," Atemu replied as he plopped down on the ground next to Bakura. "Face it, we tied."

"Whatever. I'm too tired to argue."

"We need to keep moving, this isn't the best spot for a rest. With our powers drained, we would be vulnerable if anyone attacks us without the forest to camouflage us."

"Screw it, I'm tired."

"I heard a river before I transformed. It's probably on the other side of this field."

"You're a genius trying to take a fire demon towards water." Elemental demons like Bakura often had a weakness of another element. As a fire demon, Bakura hated water and getting wet. The only time he willingly went near water was to investigate the waterfall near their village and that was only because Atemu usually fell in. Naturally Bakura would always have a good laugh over Atemu coming out of the water looking like a drown rat.

"Lay off the sarcasm. We still have a long way to go."

"There days after today according to my parents. Then it'll be another four days back, where we will be celebrated and honored by our peers. And since we will be considered adults, no more stupid training."

"Plus I will be able to find my parents."

"Trust me you're better off without them," Bakura said as he sat up. "Kids spend their entire lives trying to get away from their parents and yet here you are trying to find them."

"What else am I going to do?" Atemu asked him while standing once again. "Go home and rot away my life? There's nothing for me there."

"Yesterday you didn't want to leave."

"Yesterday I didn't think I had a chance of ever finding them."

"What if you don't see anything about them? The pool could show you anything."

"I will. I know it!" Atemu turned away from Bakura and looked across the meadow. "I'll meet you by the river. Catch up after you've rested." Transforming back into a leopard Atemu began running through the meadow before the fire demon could say another word.

* * *

Night eventually fell across the land but that did not stop the two young demons. Walking along in his leopard form Atemu could easily see in the dark. Next to him was Bakura holding the palm of his hand flat upward. A small fire was protruding from his palm that lit their way.

"We should stop soon," Bakura said. Ever since reaching the meadow they had not spoken to each other except for a few words. They were now back among more trees as they continued their journey towards the Pool of Destiny.

"Agreed." Looking sideways, Bakura found that Atemu was once again a human. From the flicker of the small fire, Bakura could see the bright smile of the cat demon's face and knew that his moody friend was feeling better. "We should get moving at dawn again. The faster we travel, the sooner we'll get there."

"Good idea, because as soon as we get there we can turn around, go home and brag about our achievements. I can't wait to see the look on Claudius' face when we get home. Every time he leaves that village I'm going to torment him with my powers an there will be nothing he can do in return."

"Agreed. It will be nice to rub it in the bastard's face. He's picked on us our entire lives. Payback will be nice."

The two friends crackled together as they sat on the ground. They were going to have fun with the freedom they would get from completing their task.

* * *

The next three and a half days passed quickly for Atemu and Bakura as they traveled through the thick bush. Eventually a small clearing appeared in the forest.

"There it is," Bakura said pointing to the clump of large rocks gathered together, sticking out of the ground. Among the rocks the pair could easily make out the entrance to the cave.

Igniting both of his hands to use them as torches, Bakura lead the way into the cave. The ground sloped downwards as the pair walked around the widen cave. The two young demons were in awe to be walking in the very footsteps that Messalina walked 8000 years ago. Their goddess had lived and was murdered in that very cave.

"It should be soon," Atemu said from where he walked behind Bakura. In his human form Atemu's eyes were not as well adapted to the dark so he was staying close the fire demon.

The Pool of Destiny was actually a small underground lake. Humans, fearing Messalina's powers, tracked her to her home in the cave and struck her down. Messalina's body had tumbled into the lake and as she died the water stained red with her blood. Although all signs of the crimson water was gone it was believed Messalina's powers remained, transferring to the waters from her blood.

"There!" Bakura said pointing with a fire finger towards the small body of water. Finding small, unlit torches around the area, Bakura quickly lit them and then waved out the fire in his hands. "Do you want to go first or should I?"

"You. It was your idea."

"Okay." Bakura nodded his head as he took a step forward. Atemu hung back as Bakura continued walking forward until he reached the small ledge at the edge of the water. Bakura then took a deep breath and looked down at the water. Gradually a smile appeared on his face. After a few minutes he backed away and rejoined Atemu.

"What did you see?"

"Me causing chaos," Bakura replied with a huge grin on his face. "It was great!"

Atemu knew it was now his turn. Taking some slow steps forward, he soon found himself at the edge of the lake. Looking down, Atemu watched as the images appeared in the water.

The image of a tall brunet man with piercing blue eyes appeared in the water. A black cat, Atemu knew to be himself, rode upon the brunet's shoulders as he walked through the forest stalking his prey. A jolt of electrically shot up Atemu's back as he watched the brunet, feeling the connection between them.

The scene shifted to Atemu, now in his human form, laying on his back on a bed. The brunet leaned over him and they both smiled as their mouths came together. Moments before they kissed, Atemu toppled head first into the water because he had been leaving too far over the edge.

"Atemu!" Bakura cried as the cat demon's head popped out of the water. The fire demon rushed forward and Atemu grabbed his hand to help be pulled back onto the slippery, stone ground. "What did you see?"

"I don't know," Atemu admitted as he looked back at the lake. "It was odd."

"Your parents?"

"No, it was something else," Atemu replied with a confused expression on his face. He had no clue who the brunet was and even though it was only an image, Atemu had felt the connection himself and the brunet. It was as if they were bonded.

After reaching a certain age, demons were allowed to mate with a human. This event occurred every 500 years. The human would become a demon and the pair would be bonded for life. But Atemu would not be allowed to mate for another few thousand years and it surprised him that he would receive a vision of so far in the future when any other demon would see something much closer to the time they were currently in.

"Forget it about it," Atemu said with a small shake of his head. "We should get out of here and then camp nearby for tonight. In the morning we'll start heading home."

"Alright," Bakura agreed giving Atemu a concern look. He wasn't too worried though because he could read the cat demon well and knew that whatever Atemu saw it hadn't frighten him.

Creating torches once again with his hands, Bakura led them out of the cave. Outside, at the entrance to the cave, they decided they would stay there for the night so Bakura created a fire for them. It didn't take long for either of them to fall asleep, as they needed their rest for their trip home.

* * *

Atemu tossed and turned in his sleep. Dreams of the sexy brunet haunted his peace.

Awakening, Atemu looked across the campfire to make sure Bakura was still asleep. The fire demon was softly snoring so Atemu too the opportunity to transform into a cat. The small cat then creep into the cave while Bakura continued to sleep unaware what was happening.

Atemu knew it was forbidden to take a second look into the Pool of Destiny. Knowing too much about one's future was a bad thing, but Atemu needed to see the brunet again and was willing to risk the consequences he had been warned about.

Hurrying through the cave, the small cat soon reached the lake where Atemu transformed back into a human. Walking slowly forward he once again stood on the stone ledge and peered down at the water with a smile on his face.

The image of the brunet quickly appeared again. This time he was stalking through some old building. The smile on Atemu's face began to fade however as the image changed to show himself in his cat from hiding from the brunet who appeared to be hunting him.

The image changed again, this time to show Bakura. Bakura had a completely evil look on his face, one that Atemu had never seen before. Atemu watched in horror as Bakura smirked in the direction of the black cat. Moments later a fire began spreading throughout the building caused by the fire demon.

Stumbling backwards, the images disappeared from Atemu's sight. He couldn't believe what Bakura had done. Bakura had knowingly started that fire in an attempt to kill both him and the brunet.

Transforming again into a cat, Atemu traveled back to the entrance of the cave where Bakura was still asleep. Turning human, Atemu stood over Bakura's sleeping form as he thought about what he had seen. Although the brunet hunting him had been disturbing, Atemu was now positive that the man from his vision was his mate. Atemu's heart ached at the thought of losing the brunet, especially to Bakura whom he considered to be his best friend. Bakura would have to be stopped even if that meant they could no longer be friends.

Pulling a dagger from his boot, Atemu raised it above Bakura's chest. "I'm sorry but its you or him," he whispered before plunging the dagger downward.

A flame of fire shot up at Bakura before the dagger reached Bakura's flesh. Surprised, Atemu stumbled backwards to avoid the blast. As he did so, Bakura's eyes snapped open and he sat up before firing another ball of fire at the cat demon who quickly dodged it again.

"Bastard!"

"Bakura it's not what you think!" Atemu protested as he dropped the dagger to the ground.

"I know exactly what you were up too!" Bakura yelled. "Traitor!" Again Bakura threw a fireball at Atemu who dodged it for a third time.

Transforming into a cat, Atemu hurried off under the cover of darkness. "You better run!" Bakura hollered after him, while throwing another fireball for good measure.

Atemu's small paws carried him quickly over the ground. The landscape eventually sloped upwards as Atemu continued to run trying to get as far away from Bakura that he could.

As dawn broke Atemu found himself in his human form standing at the edge of a cliff, looking down at the forest below while wondering what he was going to do. Over the pas few days Bakura had all but perfected his fire traveling technique so there was no way he could get back to Chale Jao before the fire demon. There was little doubt in his mind that Bakura would not immediately return there to tell the entire village what he had done turning everyone against him.

Atemu closed his eyes as he stood on the edge of the cliff and mentally cursed himself. He didn't know what had come over him. Bakura was his best friend and he had come so close to killing him. At the same time however there was the brunet. Atemu knew the brunet was his mate. Every demon had the nature instinct of knowing their mate when he or she was found. But Atemu would be ready to mate for a number of years.

The petite cat demon felt sick over what he had done. He had betrayed his best friend over a brunet he did not know and would not know for almost 3000 years. A thought of horror occurred to him that the reason Bakura wanted to kill both of them so badly was because of his actions that night.

"This is my fault," Atemu sadly whispered as he opened his eyes and looked down at the trees below him. "If I had never taken that second look, I would have never have known about Bakura starting that fire and wouldn't have tried to kill him."

Atemu felt like hurling himself off the cliff and fall into those trees. He didn't deserve to live. He broke the rules by taking a second look into the Pool of Destiny and he had betrayed his best friends. Atemu deduced his parents must have been shown his fate, which was why they abandoned him, so he would not be an embarrassment to their good name.

Closing his eyes, Atemu was about to take a step forward off the cliff, when the brunet's smiling face appeared before him. Atemu's heart fluttered and he felt the jolt of electrically up his back again as his mind drew upon the brunet's image. This confused Atemu again. What he was feeling was what he had been told a bond felt like but there should be no bond until after the mating process. Atemu could feel it though, almost hear the brunet's voice in his head. He could sense the brunet was going to need his help.

Atemu's eyes snapped open with newfound determination. He didn't understand how but he knew the brunet's life was going to depend upon his actions. No matter how many years it took he would find the brunet.

"I'll find you Seto," he whispered before transforming into a leopard and began the long climb down the rocky cliff.

* * *

_Fin_


End file.
